Car-dependent city planning has resulted in high levels of environmental pollution, sedentary lifestyles and increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The Barcelona Superblock model ...is an innovative urban and transport planning strategy that aims to reclaim public space for people, reduce motorized transport, promote sustainable mobility and active lifestyles, provide urban greening and mitigate effects of climate change. We estimated the health impacts of implementing this urban model across Barcelona.
We carried out a quantitative health impact assessment (HIA) study for Barcelona residents ≥20 years (N = 1,301,827) on the projected Superblock area level (N = 503), following the comparative risk assessment methodology. We 1) estimated expected changes in (a) transport-related physical activity (PA), (b) air pollution (NO2), (c) road traffic noise, (d) green space, and (e) reduction of the urban heat island (UHI) effect through heat reductions; 2) scaled available risk estimates; and 3) calculated attributable health impact fractions. Estimated endpoints were preventable premature mortality, changes in life expectancy and economic impacts.
We estimated that 667 premature deaths (95% CI: 235–1,098) could be prevented annually through implementing the 503 Superblocks. The greatest number of preventable deaths could be attributed to reductions in NO2 (291, 95% PI: 0–838), followed by noise (163, 95% CI: 83–246), heat (117, 95% CI: 101–137), and green space development (60, 95% CI: 0–119). Increased PA for an estimated 65,000 persons shifting car/motorcycle trips to public and active transport resulted in 36 preventable deaths (95% CI: 26–50). The Superblocks were estimated to result in an average increase in life expectancy for the Barcelona adult population of almost 200 days (95% CI: 99–297), and result in an annual economic impact of 1.7 billion EUR (95% CI: 0.6–2.8).
The Barcelona Superblocks were estimated to help reduce harmful environmental exposures (i.e. air pollution, noise, and heat) while simultaneously increase PA levels and access to green space, and thereby provide substantial health benefits. For an equitable distribution of health benefits, the Superblocks should be implemented consistently across the entire city. Similar health benefits are expected for other cities that face similar challenges of environmental pollution, climate change vulnerability and low PA levels, by adopting the Barcelona Superblock model.
•The Barcelona Superblock model provides a paradigm shift towards people-centered city planning•The model aims to reclaim public space, reduce motorized transport, promote active mobility provide greening and cooling•Almost 700 premature deaths could be prevented annually with the Barcelona Superblocks•Health pathways were air pollution, noise and heat reductions and increases in green space and transport physical activity•The Superblocks could be scaled-up to other cities to reduce the health burden related to car-centered city planning
Urban environmental design is increasingly considered influential for health and wellbeing, but evidence is mostly based on adults and single exposure studies. We evaluated the association between a ...wide range of urban environment characteristics and health behaviours in childhood.
We estimated exposure to 32 urban environment characteristics (related to the built environment, traffic, and natural spaces) for home and school addresses of 1,581 children aged 6–11 years from six European cohorts. We collected information on health behaviours including total amount of overall moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, physical activity outside school hours, active transport, sedentary behaviours and sleep duration, and developed patterns of behaviours with principal component analysis. We used an exposure-wide association study to screen all exposure-outcome associations, and the deletion-substitution-addition algorithm to build a final multi-exposure model.
In multi-exposure models, green spaces (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) were positively associated with active transport, and inversely associated with sedentary time (22.71 min/day less (95 %CI −39.90, −5.51) per interquartile range increase in NDVI). Residence in densely built areas was associated with more physical activity and less sedentary time, and densely populated areas with less physical activity outside school hours and more sedentary time. Presence of a major road was associated with lower sleep duration (-4.80 min/day (95 %CI −9.11, −0.48); compared with no major road). Results for the behavioural patterns were similar.
This multicohort study suggests that areas with more vegetation, more building density, less population density and without major roads are associated with improved health behaviours in childhood.
Esta investigación se centra en la habitabilidad, específicamente en el caso de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México. Las dinámicas dentro de dicha zona, conformada por municipios de tres ...entidades federativas, pone de relieve las diferencias entre la Ciudad de México y el resto de los municipios conurbanos y resalta las disparidades en equipamiento, acceso a servicios, entre otras características. El objetivo principal es contrastar algunos indicadores que se retoman para medir la habitabilidad, con la percepción de las condiciones de la vivienda y el espacio construido, para lo cual se tomará el caso del municipio de Ecatepec. Se trabajó con datos de la Encuesta Intercensal, además de información recabada a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas. Se destaca la importancia de considerar no solo aspectos cuantitativos para entender la habitabilidad, sino tener en cuenta la percepción de la población sobre este tema.
Green spaces may have beneficial impacts on children's cognition. However, few studies explored the exposure to green spaces beyond residential areas, and their availability, accessibility and uses ...at the same time. The aim of the present study was to describe patterns of availability, accessibility, and uses of green spaces among primary school children and to explore how these exposure dimensions are associated with cognitive development. Exposures to green space near home, school, commuting route, and other daily activity locations were assessed for 1607 children aged 6–11 years from six birth cohorts across Europe, and included variables related to: availability (NDVI buffers: 100, 300, 500 m), potential accessibility (proximity to a major green space: linear distance; within 300 m), and use (play time in green spaces: hours/year), and the number of visits to green spaces (times/previous week). Cognition measured as fluid intelligence, inattention, and working memory was assessed by computerized tests. We performed multiple linear regression analyses on pooled and imputed data adjusted for individual and area-level confounders. Availability, accessibility, and uses of green spaces showed a social gradient that was unfavorable in more vulnerable socioeconomic groups. NDVI was associated with more playing time in green spaces, but proximity to a major green space was not. Associations between green space exposures and cognitive function outcomes were not statistically significant in our overall study population. Stratification by socioeconomic variables showed that living within 300 m of a major green space was associated with improved working memory only in children in less deprived residential areas (β = 0.30, CI: 0.09,0.51), and that more time playing in green spaces was associated with better working memory only in children of highly educated mothers (β per IQR increase in hour/year = 0.10; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.19). However, studying within 300 m of a major green space increased inattention scores in children in more deprived areas (β = 15.45, 95% CI: 3.50, 27.40).
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•Green space availability, accessibility and use are unequal across socioeconomic groups.•Availability more than accessibility seems to foster play time in green spaces.•Accessibility improved working memory in children of higher socioeconomic areas.•Play time in green spaces improved working memory in children of higher educated mothers.•Accessibility increased inattention in children studying in more deprived areas.
Ideas of reference (IR) are frequent in psychopathology, mainly in psychotic disorders. The frequency of IR and preoccupation about them are related to the psychotic dimension, and to a lesser ...extent, to negative or emotional disorganized dimensions. Aberrant salience (AS), has been proposed as an indicator of the onset of psychosis, particularly of schizophrenia. This study analyzed the mediating role of AS, disorganized symptoms and preoccupation about IR in the relationship between IR and the psychotic dimension.
The sample consisted of 330 participants (116 university students and 214 clinically active patients), 62.4% of whom were women aged 18-79. The Referential Thinking Scale, the Aberrant Salience Inventory, and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale were administered.
Evidence of a partial mediation model showed that the relationships between IR and the psychotic dimension were mediated jointly by AS and the disorganized dimension, and preoccupation about IR no longer had a role. This relationship was significantly influenced by participant age. The variables in the model explained 54.16% of the variance.
The model proposed enabled a set of vulnerabilities (unusual thought content) to be predicted that could lead to a high-risk general pathological state and proneness to psychosis in particular. These findings are discussed with regard to early detection and prevention of psychosis.
Although walking for travel can help in reaching the daily recommended levels of physical activity, we know relatively little about the correlates of walking for travel in the European context.
...Within the framework of the European Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) project, we aimed to explore the correlates of walking for travel in European cities.
The same protocol was applied in seven European cities. Using a web-based questionnaire, we collected information on total minutes of walking per week, individual characteristics, mobility behavior, and attitude (
). Characteristics of the built environment (the home and the work/study addresses) were determined with geographic information system (GIS)-based techniques. We conducted negative binomial regression analyses, including city as a random effect. Factor and principal component analyses were also conducted to define profiles of the different variables of interest.
Living in high-density residential areas with richness of facilities and density of public transport stations was associated with increased walking for travel, whereas the same characteristics at the work/study area were less strongly associated with the outcome when the residential and work/study environments were entered in the model jointly. A walk-friendly social environment was associated with walking for travel. All three factors describing different opinions about walking (ranging from good to bad) were associated with increased minutes of walking per week, although the importance given to certain criteria to choose a mode of transport provided different results according to the criteria.
The present study supports findings from previous research regarding the role of the built environment in the promotion of walking for travel and provides new findings to help in achieving sustainable, healthy, livable, and walkable cities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4603.
Among the New World vultures, the Andean condor is considered one of the most culturally and ecologically important species. However, their populations are declining over their entire distributional ...range. In response, conservation strategies have been implemented in many countries to reverse the increasing extinction risk of this species. The initiatives rely on extensive population surveys to gather basic information necessary to implement policies and to intervene efficiently. Still, there is a need to standardize the surveys based on seasonality and suitable environmental conditions throughout the species distribution. Here, we provide the first assessment of how daily temperature, rainfall, and seasonality influence surveys of Andean condors on a communal roost in the central Peruvian Andes.
Using an autoregressive generalized linear model, we associated environmental variables with visual surveys of adult and young condors at three different times of the day and three times a week between June 2014 and March 2015.
We found that both adults and young Andean condors showed a threefold reduction in the use of the communal roost after the beginning of the rainy season. Colder and drier days (dry season) are preferable for surveying, as we expect the total number of condors using communal roosts to reduce under rainy (rainfall = -0.53 ± 0.16) and warmer days (temperature = -0.04 ± 0.02) days. Therefore, the significant variation in the use of roosts across seasons and hours should be carefully accounted for in national surveys, at the risk of undermining the full potential of the communal roost surveys. Moreover, we also found a strong bias towards immatures (about 76%) in the adult:immature ratio and a remarkable absence of Andean condors during the wet season. These results suggest that the species might be using other unknown communal roosts hierarchically. Such results provide key information for selecting priority areas for conservation and selecting the best time to survey this species in the tropical Andes. Finally, it may open a fruitful avenue for further research on the protection of the Andean condor.
Background
We previously reported an association of high fat mass levels from age 9 to 15 years with lower forced expiratory flow in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (i.e., increased risk ...of airflow limitation) at 15 years. Here, we aimed to assess whether insulin resistance and C‐reactive protein (CRP) at 15 years partially mediate this association.
Methods
We included 2263 children from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children population‐based cohort (ALSPAC). Four fat mass index (FMI) trajectories (“low,” “medium‐low,” “medium‐high,” “high”) from 9 to 15 years were previously identified using Group‐Based Trajectory Modeling. Data on CRP, glucose, insulin, and post‐bronchodilator FEV1/FVC were available at 15 years. We defined insulin resistance by the homeostasis model assessment‐estimated insulin resistance index (HOMA‐IR). We used adjusted linear regression models and a causal mediation analysis to assess the mediating role of HOMA‐IR and CRP.
Results
Compared to children in the “low” FMI trajectory, children in the “medium‐high” and “high” FMI trajectories had lower FEV1/FVC at 15 years. The percentage of the total effect explained by HOMA‐IR was 19.8% −114.1 to 170.0 and 20.4% 1.6 to 69.0 for the “medium‐high” and “high” trajectories, respectively. In contrast, there was little evidence for a mediating role of CRP.
Conclusion
The association between mid‐childhood fat mass and FEV1/FVC ratio at 15 years may be partially mediated by insulin resistance.
Abstract Objective To evaluate the efficacy of a physiotherapy program for relieving symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea among Mexican women. Study design This was a single-center, prospective, ...experimental, parallel group, randomized controlled trial. This cross-sectional study was performed at the Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. Female patients with primary dysmenorrhea, age of 18–22 years; pain intensity from 4 to 10 cm on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS); and sedentary lifestyle were included. The patients were then randomized to receive a physiotherapy program for three months or to no intervention program. The physiotherapy program consisted of overall stretching, specific stretches, Kegel exercises, jogging, and relaxation exercises. Patient evaluations of symptomatology and pain intensity were recorded basally and throughout for three menstrual periods. The data were entered into a computerized database for descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Results A per-protocol population of eighty three women with a mean age of 20.2 ± 1.8 years underwent the physiotherapy program, and seventy seven participants with a mean age of 20.4 ± 1.2 years received no treatment. The participant assessments of pain on the VAS during the second and the third menstrual cycles demonstrated a significant reduction in the treatment group ( p < 0.05) compared with the control group. Conclusions The results showed that strengthening, stretching and muscle relaxation techniques, in addition to jogging, are effective for reducing dysmenorrheic symptoms when they are regularly performed.
A Mediation Model for Ideas of Reference Senín-Calderón, Cristina; Perona-Garcelán, Salvador; Fuentes-Márquez, Sandra ...
Psychological reports,
06/2017, Volume:
120, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Ideas of reference are common in human beings, but they are frequent in certain psychopathological disorders, mainly those concerning the psychotic spectrum. The purpose of this study was to attempt ...to construct a model predicting the appearance of ideas of reference and to test the relationship of personality (based on the Gray model), emotional, and self-consciousness variables. Five-hundred and seventy-four participants (287 patients with several different psychopathological diagnoses) filled in the Referential Thinking Scale (REF), the GHQ-28, the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS-R), and the SPSRQ Scale. The resulting model found full mediation of sensitivity to punishment, sensitivity to reward, depression, and public self-consciousness between anxiety and ideas of reference, regardless of the group they were in (patients vs. nonpatients). This result, based on the appearance of anxiety symptomatology, explains 43% of the variance in scores, showing the presence of ideas of reference and therefore enables prediction of a set of vulnerabilities (established with self-reports) which could lead to a psychological state of high general pathological risk and proneness to psychosis in particular.
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